Heartwarming Story

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Back in May, Deanna and Bill Hedegaard saw the gypsylarry.com logo on our rig in the Medora campground while they had stopped for an overnighter.  Emails began to take place and finally on June 6th, they stopped on their way through again to finally meet face to face.  Since then we have continued missives thru the net.  Three weeks ago they were here again on their travels and we spent a wonderful evening with them just chatting. They live about two hours west in Montana. Deanna had done some writing in the past. Today she sent me this email which just made me feel good.  I thought I’d share it with you.  

That  time has rolled  around  again.  Those two and  a half  months flew by  and now its August 9th. Guy, our western  kingbird has apparently left.  We  last saw him yesterday, the 8th.  This will be  the  3rd year that he left on the 8th  of Aug.  We’ve called  him so  many  times  today and  we  searched  the sky,  the  trees and the lines  but  he  didn’t  come.  I  am  so  sad  and so  is  Bill.  We  miss  him  already  and  he  is  barely  gone.  This  year  we  were  so  tickled  that  he  came back and we felt  so  blessed  to  have  him  here  one  more  time.  Four  years  in  a  row  he has come  here  and  nests  in  the  same  tree  with  his  lady  and  raises  their  babies.  Then  he  leaves  on  the  8th  of August.

We  pray  his  trip  back  down  to  Central  America  or  South  Texas will  be  safe.   We  wish  there  was  a  way  to  track  him  but  there  isn’t.  This  year  the  millers  or  moths  weren’t  real  plentiful  and  the  last  week  it  was  slim  pickings.  Bill  would  get  up  every  morning  and  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see  he’d  be outside  hunting millers under  the  deck roof  and  in  the  outside chair cushions  where  they  hide.  But  the  past  few  days  he  felt lucky  if  he’d  find  four  of  the  dusty  little  things,  Guy  would  swoop  down  and  take everyone  of  them from  Bill’s  fingers  and make  a  noise  as  if  to  say  thanks.  When  there  were  no  more  millers  Bill  found  a  couple  of  grasshoppers.  Guy  took  one  and  flew  up  on  the  line, bashed it against the line then dropped it  as  if  to  say  “This  is  not  a  miller,  I  do  know  the  difference”  This  year  he  talked  to  us  more  than ever.  On  Friday  night  as  I  was  going  to  bed  I  could  hear  a  kingbird in  the  back  by  the  bedroom.  He  was  really talking  and  I looked  out  and there  was  Guy  sitting  close  to  the window  on  a  tree  branch.  I could  tell  it  was  him  as  his  breast  has  faded  and  isn’t  near  as  bright yellow  as  it use  to  be.  That  was  the  first  time  we’ve  seen  him  back  there.  He  just  talked  and  chattered.  We  both  felt  he  was  saying  goodby.    Bill  told  him  he  loved  him.  But  he  was  here  on  Saturday  morning, still  talking.
Now, today  he  is  gone.  We  can’t  begin to  tell  you  what  a blessing  he  has  been  to  us.   We’ll  talk  about  him  and  wonder  if  he  made  it  back  down  to  the southlands. Bill  says  he  changes  his  name  to  Guy  Lopez when  he gets  down  there.  Up  here  he  is  Guy  Hedegaard  and  he  has  a  greencard  so  he  can  work.   It  continues  to  amaze  us  both  that  he  remembers  from  year  to  year  his  name when he is called  and flies right down to take millers  out  of  our fingers.  If  he  comes back by  the  end  of  May  that  will  be  his  5th  year.  The  books  tell  us  their  average life span  is  only  five years  but  a friend  has  told us about  a  bird  she  rescued  and it  lived  eleven  years.  But  then again  her  bird  never  flew  hundreds  of miles  back  and forth  like  Guy  does  twice  a  year.  We  can  hope.  Hope  and  pray.
We  thank  God  for  this  little  creature and  the  blessings he  has  brought us  these  past  four  years.  Guy  made  so  many  people  smile  and  laugh  when  they  would  see  swoop  out  of  the  sky.  They’d  listen to  him  talk  and  scold  and  perform  and  he  brought joy  to  everyone.  He  is  special  and  we  have  been  privileged  and blessed to have him in our lives  one  more time.  Thanks for the post, Deanna.